Flowers have always inspired fashion and this season, two Irish fashion designers, Jennifer Slattery and Caoimhe Grant of August Night, joined forces with florist Mark Grehan at his studios in the Liberties to set the tone and photo location for their new collections.
Slattery celebrates 15 years in business this year, while August Night turns five. Both share the same vision and aesthetic approach to design, and first got together last year to cover the costs of displaying and selling their work in Dublin Civic Trust’s restored Ormond Quay building at Dublin Independent Fashion Week.
“There were months of shared mood boards, fabric choices, colour motifs, each one pushing the other to go further,” Slattery says.
The flowers inspired the fabrics and embroidery and the fabrics inspired the shapes – rose pinstripe linen pressed against dark rose satin, delicate wildflowers scattered across tumbled linen and petal drawstring bags.
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Slattery’s silhouettes are breezy, spacious and comfortable with frills and ruffles; for August Night, the shoulder becomes the site of bold and sculptural shapes, exploring the bloom theme in dramatic ways.
New pieces by Slattery include the full skirted Moon dress in dark cherry and embroidered linen, and her signature oversized Maud shirt has drawstring sleeve detailing. A gingham top and skirt and a wildflower top and longer length skirt anchor the whole collection.
Slattery combines the commercial demands of running a shop with lecturing in digital and hand embroidery in the National College for Art and Design. “Being surrounded by student creativity keeps my brain working in a different way,” she says, and that informs the development of her collections. “My pieces are designed to be fluid and easy to wear and Caoimhe’s pieces complement my work.”
Grant, who worked for years with John and Simone Rocha, takes an imaginative approach to the handbag for August Night every season, this time introducing a colourful range in satin exploring the rose motif. This includes small petal bags in lime, dark rose, black and scarlet, a baby scrunch mirror bag in silver, rose and gold, and two large dramatic rose crossbodies in black and blush satin.
“We have continued to support each other both creatively and in business, which matters enormously when you are working for yourself,” Grant says. “Irish designers supporting one another is essential right now as it keeps energy and momentum alive, and shows what’s possible when we work together rather than in isolation.”
The collections were shot in The Garden Studio, a contemporary floral workspace that provides a visually coherent backdrop for both brands, and where Grehan’s lush floral arrangements are set against the cool concrete tones of the building.
Jennifer Slattery’s shop is at 74 Benburb Street, Smithfield, Dublin 7; jenniferslattery.com August Night sells online at augustnight.ie.
Photographer Zoe Ardiff; model Lisa Nilova; hair and make-up Amanda Ribeiro; floral direction Mark Grehan, Shop the Garden
